Ever since taking my F-301 to school, taking portraits of my friends, and developing the prints at home, I’ve had a soft spot for Nikon. It was the camera that took me through my street photography thesis at university and has since been passed onto another student learning the ropes.

Nikon is bringing back that heritage design but now with a full-frame mirrorless camera. As well as the beautiful ‘vintage’ style, it’s got the tech to back it up. Is this the perfect camera for the photographer-Dad who wants to capture every moment, have them look awesome, but also have the fun of the cameras he had in his youth? It’s looking a bit like it!

The Z f is a mirrorless camera that balances a heritage design inspired by an iconic Nikon film camera with the latest in superior performance. It is equipped with a full-frame sensor and the same EXPEED 7 image-processing engine as the mirrorless flagship Nikon Z 9, enabling advanced still-image and video recording. In addition to realizing outstanding operability and a sophisticated design, the Z f features cutting-edge technologies, including exceptional AF and VR performance, that meet the needs of creators pursuing their individual forms and styles of expression.

Nikon.com press release

The features:

• magnesium-alloy body
• brass shutter release button
• new picture modes including monochrome, flat/ deep tone monochrome
• 24.5 mp sensor
• Zf pixel-shift merging to create 96mp files
• 10-bit H.265 video recording
• 4k UGD video with 6k oversampling
• EXPEED 7 image-processing engine
• 3D tracking (in photo mode)
• superior dust and drip-resistance
• two memory card slots, supporting SD cards and Micro SD cards
•  EVF is a 3.69-million dot OLED panel with approx. 0.8x magnification
•  rear panel is a 3.2-inch touchscreen with about 2.1 million dots
• vari-angle display
• weight – 1.57 pounds

The Nikon Zf also has the brand’s best image stabilization, which is an absolute must when you’re trying to take a crisp shot or even a video of the family while they run around creating chaos. Why can’t they just stay still for two seconds? It comes with vibration reduction (VR) equivalent to eight stops, the best of all the Z series. That’s three stops improvement on the Z6 II.

The Nikon Zf body-only list price is $1,999, or it can be purchased with the Z 40mm F2 lens, or Z 24-70mm F4 lens for a bit more. The Zf will be available from October 2023, in black only from third-party online retailers, while if you shop at the Nikon store it comes in six color variations.

The sample images look spectacular, but I’ll have to see if the lovely people at Nikon fancy sending one in this direction!

More info and the full announcement available at Nikon.com